Shoppers went online for Christmas gifts (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Shoppers went online for Christmas gifts

CHRISTMAS shoppers spent an estimated £3 billion online during the festive season.

Sales of goods on the internet rose by 20 per cent, according to the Interactive Retail Media Group. It said stores without websites gave a poorer performance, with online shopping accounting for 6.3 per cent of spending.

IRMG's chief executive James Roper said he expects e-retailing to grow by 40 per cent, to £5 billion, by the end of 2005.

He said: "Growth was slower this Christmas than last year, but the entire marketplace has been more difficult.

"The e-marketplace has still done really well and, as the take-up of broadband increases and more retailers invest in their on-line sites, more shopping will go online."

Research suggests Britons are the biggest online shoppers in with 30 per cent of UK consumers buying more than 16 items online in the past year, compared with only 19 per cent across the rest of Europe.